E-mail List Guidelines

Welcome to the Northwest Independent Editors Guild email discussion list!

The Guild listserv is a friendly place to post your editing questions, share resources and articles of interest to the group, and spread the word about upcoming classes and events. While we aren’t as strict as some listservs, for the benefit of everyone on the list, we do expect members to follow the listserv guidelines, below.

Please read them before posting and refer back as needed.

IMPORTANT: Read before posting!

Sending Messages    
Reading Messages    
Listserv Etiquette    
Appropriate Content    
Troubleshooting/FAQ

Sending Messages – How-To

To post a new message send it to edsguild@yahoogroups.com.

Use a descriptive title in the subject line.

To reply to a post, depending on your settings, do one of the following:

Yahoo!Groups, which we use for our listserv, no longer supports sending replies directly to the list with the Reply button on your email program. 

The listserv does not accept attachments.

Make sure your message is in plain text only. HTML messages will be returned.

Be sure to send the message from the same address you are using for the listserv.

Reading Messages – Options and Settings

Archives and  reading messages online: The Guild's listserv includes a Yahoo!Groups online presence where you can change your settings, read and reply to messages, and search the archives. If you want to use these functions, but don't yet have web access, please see Yahoo! Help for enabling web access.

Digest vs. Individual: New members are set to receive digests--a single email containing all the messages posted on the previous day. If you’d rather receive each message as soon as it’s posted, email info@edsguild.org and we’ll change your settings to the Individual Email option, or change this setting yourself online: http://groups.yahoo.com/

Fully featured vs. Traditional format: Fully featured messages include a number of links to Yahoo!groups features and extra details about the "group" (aka, the listserv). Traditional format includes only the text of the message and the standard footer. Guild members are set to Traditional format by default.
Visit the related Yahoo! help page for more details.

Your settings can be changed two ways:

Listserv Etiquette

Double-check the “to:” line before you send your message. Are there typos? Is this the intended recipient? Many email programs include an auto-complete feature in the email address book and it sometimes causes embarrassing mishaps.

Additionally, be very cautious in using any “invite your friends” features provided by some websites, particularly social networking sites. These programs will often spam your entire address book, including listservs to which you post.

Do not use automatic email reply programs. To do so creates a mess, as they generate a response for each message received. If you need to use these programs, please switch to “no mail” while you are away. You can change your settings back when you return.

Do not turn on any feature that confirms receipt or reading of an email message. This creates the same problem as the automatic reply programs.

Do not send spam (junk email), such as chain letters, petitions, or ads for services or products unrelated to editing/writing--including for classes and events not specifically related to editing/writing.

Do not post messages in all caps. This is the equivalent of shouting.

Don’t forward a post from another member or mailing list without express permission from the author (i.e., “forwards OK”).

Appropriate Content

You can use the list to ask for advice and information; to announce editing/writing–related events; to share exciting professional news; to debate a style issue; and so on.

Our Steering Committee and administrator also use the list to send important messages to all members, such as changes in the Web site password, notices of upcoming meetings, or new benefits of membership.

The list administrator will sometimes post announcements about writing and editing-related events—either Guild-sponsored events or those sponsored by outside parties; however, the Guild admin will not post messages on behalf of members. If you are teaching a class on writing or editing, or hosting a book signing or other editing or writing-related event, you are welcome to post an announcement to the list yourself. Events that are not related to editing or writing are not appropriate for this listserv.

Jobs are generally posted on our job boards, but they are also welcome on the list, particularly if you have extra details to add.

Do not send administrative questions to the list. Questions about listserv functions, the password, the Guild website, and so forth, should all be directed to info@edsguild.org. 

Be concise. Quote from a message to which you are replying as needed, but only quote what is necessary to understand your reply. You may choose to summarize a lengthy discussion instead of quoting it, but be careful to be accurate.

Your posted response to the list should be more than "I agree" or "thank you for responding." Either add to the discussion or send these types of messages directly to an individual.

Similarly, be careful to send only items that will interest everyone on the list. Personal messages should go directly to the individual, whenever possible.

If your post is not related to editing/writing (i.e., off topic), add “OT:” in the subject line (e.g., “OT: apartment to sublet”).

If someone posts a comment or question that is off topic (OT), do not reply to the list and keep the OT-subject discussion going publicly. Reply privately, if at all.

If you post a question to the list, consider providing a “compile” (a single message) collecting the responses you received, for the benefit of other members.

Poll or survey questions (Example: "How many of you ...?") may be asked, but please request that all responses be sent to you privately. It is your responsibility to compile the responses and provide a brief summary to the list.

Reasonable debates are welcome, but if any member requests that a controversial or lengthy discussion be taken off the list, please respect that request.

In commenting on jobs or clients, be aware that some members on the list are clients or potential clients. 

Don’t send copyrighted material to the list; instead, describe the material or include a very brief quote and provide a link to it.

Resist the urge to send helpful emails about current viruses or other just-breaking news that is not relevant to the list topic. There are other outlets for this type of information.

Refrain from pointing out typos and grammatical errors in other members’ posts unless advice or feedback was explicitly asked for.

Reporting on minor typos or grammar gaffes found in published works is not appropriate. We all cringe at grocers’ apostrophes, but that doesn’t make them noteworthy.

Do not engage in any discussion of setting rates. It can be seen as price-fixing, which is currently illegal in online forums such as our discussion list. The HTML Writers Guild offers an excellent explanation of these legal reasons on its site (see especially #6 for specific examples of acceptable and unacceptable topics).

To share rate tips, offer a link to a guide on setting rates. If you’re puzzling over rates, see the many links to relevant articles on the Resources page of the Guild’s Web site (www.edsguild.org). You may also contact specific editors in our directory who do the sort of work you’re speculating about, or talk to individual editors at our meetings. But, be aware that both public and private discussions about specific prices can result in charges of price-fixing.

Troubleshooting and Administrative Questions

Administrative questions: If you need to change your address, have misplaced the password for the Members Only part of the Web site, or if you are having technical difficulties with the list or the Guild website, send these questions to info@edsguild.org. 

Do not send these administrative questions to the entire list.

Troubleshooting, FAQ

I sent a message to the list, but it was returned as undeliverable. Why?

First, read the error message that Yahoo! sent; it usually includes the reason for the error and a link to a related online help topic. Common issues include sending messages in HTML format or sending messages from an address that is not the address used for the listserv.

HTML messages will not be accepted by the listserv, for various reasons of security and etiquette. So if you normally compose in HTML format you may want to change that setting while creating a message for the listserv. Alternatively, you can select+cut all the content from your message, paste it into Notepad (or a similar program that strips out HTML) and then paste from there back into your message. Be sure your signature line is also stripped of HTML. See Configuring Your Mail Clients to Send Plain Text http://www.expita.com/nomime.html for a detailed explanation of this issue and how to resolve it.

The address where you receive Edsguild messages is the address you can use to send messages. To change your address, email info@edsguild.org with your request. Please include both your old address and the new one you want to use.

If you still have trouble, email info@edsguild.org, include as much detail as possible: what error message you received, what you’ve already tried, and what the results were.

I sent a message to the list but it was never posted. What happened?

If you receive messages as digests, you may just need to wait for the next digest. They are compiled every 24 hours or so, as long as there are messages to compile.

Double-check that you used the correct address: edsguild@yahoogroups.com

If you received an error message from Yahoo!, see the question above.

If you still have trouble, email info@edsguild.org, include as much detail as possible: what error message you received, what you’ve already tried, and what the results were.

I’m no longer receiving Edsguild messages. Why not?

Messages may be filtered out as spam by your ISP or by your email program. You can try white-listing the edsguild address (edsguild@yahoogroups.com), contacting your ISP to get help from them, and looking in “Junk,” “Spam,” or “Trash” folders. Because neither the Guild nor YahooGroups have control over how messages are handled by your ISP or email program, please see your email program’s help files or contact your ISP for help with this type of problem.

It may be that your email address was bouncing and Yahoo!Groups stopped delivery. If this is the case, you should have received reactivation emails. Following the instructions in those emails will reactivate your account. You can also email info@edsguild.org and we can verify whether your account is bouncing and send a new reactivation request.

Sometimes there is no simple solution to being caught in the crossfire of the Spam wars. In that case, we recommend subscribing with a new email address through a different provider (among many others, gmail, hotmail, and yahoo are all free).

 

What is listserv etiquette and why does it matter? 

For a good overview of email and listserv etiquette, check out Netiquette by Virginia Shea, especially Chapter Six. See the Welcome email for copyediting-L for a good example of listserv guidelines and their rationale. Generally speaking, following etiquette guidelines can help you come across as professional, considerate, and well informed.

 

Questions about the Guild's listserv? email info@edsguild.org.

These guidelines were inspired by the list guidelines from many other listservs, including those of the  Seattle Writergrrls, copyediting-L, and the HTML Writers Guild.

Last revised 4/22/2010.